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declares that the other name of life is suffering. So also is the case with Sophocles for
whom misery and human situation in this sordid earth are synonymous. Physically the
poet stands on the Dover Beach and upon which the moon shines fairly. But the moment
he hearts the tremulous cadence created by the constant proceeding and reseeding of
the pebbles, he can realize the underlying tragic import of every human situation.
Theturbid ebb and flows of human-miseries was first felt by Sophocles whom Arnold
adores and admires as champion of the classical poets in portraying human misery in
his poetry. This is how, Arnold finds a close affinity between himself and this great Greek
scholar in realizing the meaning of life and articulating the same in poetry.
The third stanza of the poem provides a scatting criticism of society Arnold lives in.
Arnold is a brilliant exponent of the late Victorian society. But he is not a Browning or
Tennyson who finds faith in life. Contrary to faith and optimism, it is pessimism- deep
and dark that shapes and colours Arnolds philosophy of life. The later of Victorian
society is marked by a vehement crisis of confidence. Symbolically, it presents a state of
chaos and disorder in the state of affairs. The old social order based on religion,
conviction and dogma passes away and a new social order yet to be born. Unlike
Wordsworth who considers nature as mother and guide, Arnold being awfully disturbed
by the acute spiritual crisis of the people of the age hears only melancholy strain of
nature:
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar.
This earth, however beautiful, ceases to appear to the poet. On the other hand it brings in
a message of hopelessness and blank despair. Even the night wind seems to be a dirge
to Arnold. In such an atmosphere of complete negation and ennui the poet seeks to find
a shape, anchorage in love:
Ah, love let us be true
To one another! For the world, which seems.
Addressing the beloved the poet-speaker stresses the trueness and constancy in love
which may afford him sort of solace and comfort, for he finds hope nowhere. The world
lies before him looks like a land of dream, ready to deceive its dwellers:
So various, so beautiful, so new
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light
Nor certitude nor peace nor help for pain.
With the faith withered away, men during Arnolds time have become devoid of any love
or joy or intellectual en-light. What dominate the mental ethos of a Victorian man is
incertitude, ignorance and restlessness. This human situation of late Victorian
society is best articulated in the last lines.